


7.8/10 too much water

by calebwidogast



Series: adventures on the ss sssn [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 08:17:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12502988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calebwidogast/pseuds/calebwidogast
Summary: neptune hates thunder almost as much as he hates water





	7.8/10 too much water

**Author's Note:**

> when will i stop writing about neptune being scared of storms? never

it was storming, which meant that neptune was not getting any sleep that night. he woke with a jolt as the storm crashed above, echoing back into the sound of heavy rainfall. immediately, his heart was pounding.

as the window across the room lit up with a flash of lightning, neptune began trying to untangle himself from his blankets as quietly as he could, his breathing becoming less and less steady as he went. with a quivering hand, he swiped his scroll and earbuds from the table by his bedside and stuffed them in his pajama pants pocket.

another crash of thunder made him start, and he let out a shaky breath as soon as the sound had stopped. grabbing a blanket, he glanced around the room to make sure he hadn't woken any of his teammates up. it seemed fine- sun was snoring as usual, and neither sage or scarlet had moved at all.

it took all the effort he could muster up to step silently across the room, open the door, and then ease it closed behind him. when he'd closed the door, he took another gulp of air, and then made his way to the couch, taking out his scroll and earbuds as he went.

another, calmer roll of thunder echoed outside, and he took another shuddery breath as he stuffed the earbuds into his ears. pulling his blanket up over his legs as he sat against the side of the couch, he plugged the cord into his scroll and quickly pulled up a louder song. he probably wouldn't be able to sleep, but at least he wouldn't be able to hear the thunder anymore.

he tapped play, and nothing happened. neptune forgot his panic in his confusion for a moment. it showed it was playing. he should have been able to hear it playing. he pulled one of the earbuds out and looked at it- the one dim light on the other side of the room was enough to show him that the earbud was just fine. looking further down the cord, he saw that near the end plugged into the scroll, the cord was bent, and the wire inside had begun to poke out.

as another crash of thunder sounded, neptune yanked the other side of the earbuds out and unplugged them from his scroll. "oh, for f-"

the door to the bedroom opened. neptune's eyes snapped to it and he watched scarlet slide out, closing the door quietly behind them. they looked up and saw neptune on the couch.

neptune was immediately embarrassed. he was hyperventilating, on the verge of tears, and his earbuds were just landing on the floor, where he had tossed them a moment before. neptune opened his mouth to tell scarlet he was fine, immediately choked on a cough, and decided to settle on an unsteady, "hey."

scarlet gave a little wave, and crossed the room to sit next to him. neptune wordlessly pulled his legs up closer to his chest, out of the way.  scarlet pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and threw it half over themself, half over neptune. "you okay?"

they asked it very casually, as if he wasn't crying and shaking like a leaf. neptune jumped as thunder crashed again, and his words died in his throat for a moment as he took a deep breath to try and calm down. "fine. i just wanted to.. come out here and listen to music, but my earbuds are busted."

he met scarlet's gaze as they gave him a long, blank look. "neptune, don't take this the wrong way, but you look a little awful."

neptune furrowed his brow. he didn't have it in him to come up with any kind of clever reply. his scroll was still clutched in one hand, and he looked down at the darkened screen. "you're an ass. go to bed."

"look, i just wanted to check on you. i heard you get up and you sounded upset." scarlet said softly. "you can talk to me, you know."

"you're the worst gossip this school has ever seen." neptune said. his will faltered as another crash of thunder shook the building. he immediately tightened his grip on his scroll and breathed in a little sharply.

"i like to hear gossip, not spread it. keeping secrets is a strong suit of mine." they assured him. "and it's not like i don't know already."

neptune leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling, willing himself  _ not  _ to cry right now. "great. i don't like storms, you know already. go to bed." his voice shook a tiny bit as he spoke.

"i'm not just going to leave you out here alone when you're upset, nep." scarlet said. "just... take a couple deep breaths, okay? c'mere."

neptune felt scarlet wrap their arms around him, pulling him closer and into a comforting hug. neptune took a shaky breath and freed an arm to put around scarlet.

when thunder crashed again, scarlet's grip on him seemed to tighten, and neptune pressed closer to them. "i usually come out here and put my earbuds in and listen to music. i don't get sleep, but at least i don't panic like this. i'm sorry i woke you up."

"wasn't you. there was a really loud crash, and i'm not much of a heavy sleeper." scarlet said, tucking their head against the inside of neptune's shoulder. they tucked one arm between neptune and the couch, hand near his hair, and the other rested across his waist. "i could go find my earbuds, if you like?"

"no- no, i don't wanna wake anyone else up. i'm okay." neptune said, the words coming out in a rush. he instinctively tightened his arm around scarlet.

"alright, just an offer. i'm sure me being here is a cure-all, anyways." scarlet said, their grin audible in their voice. 

"you'll do, i guess." neptune said, pulling at the blanket to tug it closer.

thunder crashed outside, and scarlet lightly brushed their fingers through the short side of neptune's hair. their fingers wound into the longer part and curled around the strands there, lazily twisting and untwisting a loose lock.

neptune relaxed just slightly, letting out another shaky breath. if he couldn't have music, maybe scarlet really would do for this time.


End file.
